Tran Thi Xuan is a human rights defender, environmental activist, and member of the Brotherhood for Democracy, an organization that promotes civic engagement and provides training in human rights. Xuan supported local fishermen affected by the Formosa environmental disaster which resulted in mass fish deaths off Vietnam’s central coast, and participated in protests in 2016 and 2017. She was arrested while traveling to work in Ha Tinh on 17 October 2017.

Dong Son Prison Camp

Activists being held at this prison:

A revised and expanded penal code took effect January 1, 2018 (known as the “Amended 2015 Penal Code”). While the previous provisions criminalizing political expression remained unchanged, they were renumbered. For instance, Article 79 (attempting to overthrow the government), Article 88 (anti-state propaganda), and Article 258 (abusing democratic rights) were renumbered as Article 109, Article 117, and Article 331, respectively.

For consistency with past media coverage, our database records the Article(s) that the prisoner was charged with (i.e., based on the version of the penal code applicable at the time of the sentencing).